Time recorder



May 22, 1951 P. FEHR 2,553,644

TIME RECORDER Filed Aug. 6, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

' PAUL F [HR ATTORNEYS.

P. FEHR TIME RECORDER May 22, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 6, 1947IWIHIWWIIII mmmummn INVENTOR.

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Patented May 22, 1951 TIME RECORDER Paul Fehr, Zug, Switzerland,assignor to Landis & Gyr, A. G., Zug, Switzerland, a corporation of theConfederation of Switzerland Application August 6, 1947, Serial No.766,803 In Switzerland August 20, 1946 For time recorders in which aworkers card is stamped or printed, it is essential to have a relativecontrol between card and printing mechanism, in accordance with the daysof the week and the time of the day, and it is also necessary to providemeans for marking the cards during intervals between the normal checkingperiods, and usually made distinctive by printing in a different colour.In accordance with these functions, hereinafter termed programmes, acontrol means must be provided which automatically initiates thefunctions and carries out the agreed change of programme (such as summerand winter programmes). For reasons connect ed with the amount of spaceoccupied by such time-checking apparatus, the space available for thecontrol device (usually a control wheel provided with inserted riderplugs) is limited, so that the diameter of the control whee1 allows onlya comparatively small stroke (of the order of 0.4 mm), for itsadvancement minute by minute, which implies very fine adjustment of theriders in order that the moment of release may be set with precision. Inorder to remedy this, it has already'been proposed to increase the speedof the control or time wheel, by allowing it to make several revolutionsin twenty-four hours, so that its movement per minute is considerablygreater and the exact moment of release is ensured with sufficientaccuracy by simply inserting the riders in their mountings. Owing to theincreased number of revolutions and the presence of several programmes,the time wheel was given the form of a drum, in the perimeter of whichthe riders for the adjacently located operating means, such as releaselevers, of the programme, were inserted. The riders used were provided.with a number of notches which, multiplied by the daily number ofrevolutions of the time drum, gave the product 24, corresponding withthe scale of graduation of a day. Thus, in the case, for example ofthree revolutions per 24 hours, there would be eight notches, and, bysliding the time drum along its axis after each revolution, a new seriesof notches would be brought within the reach of the release levers of aseveral programmes.

Although this arrangement offers the advantages of combining the releasemeans of the several programmes on one time wheel-r, more accurately, atime drum-and also enables fine adjustments for the riders to bedispensed with, this sliding-time drum nevertheless brings severaldisadvantages into the apparatus; it takes up a good deal of room, andthus increases the 7 Claims. (Cl. 346-20) dimensions of the apparatus;it requires a complicated mechanical device for sliding the drum, andmakes changes of programme difficult, since the drum cannot bedismounted without having to dismantle part of the apparatus.

The object of the present invention is to provide a time recorder which,while having the advantages of the above described apparatus operatingon several simultaneous programmes, is free from the disadvantages ofthe known apparatus.

According to the invention, a time recorder having atime drum, carryingriders which by rotating several times in 24 hours effects the printingor stamping of a workers or similar card, in accordance with severalprogrammes, is provided, for each programme, with as many releasedevices, coacting with the time drum, as the drum makes revolutions in24 hours, the release devices for each programme forming a group whichacts with a control member on the mechanism allocated to the programme,for printing the workers card.

The drawing illustrates a typical embodiment of the invention, in whichFigure 1 represents a diagrammatical perspective view of those parts ofthe checking apparatus that are needed for an understanding of thefunctions of the apparatus. Figure 2 is an end elevation of the timedrum with the release mechanism. Figure 3 is a ratchet gear, and Figure4 is the'time drum, with release devices and ratchet gear, seen from theright of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a detail from Figures 2 and 4, and Figure6 hows a perspective view of a detail of the release devices.

The apparatus is provided with a clock mechanism I which is connectedwith an electric clock network 3, by way of a once-a-minute releaserelay 2, and drives a time drum 4 in such a manner that, in associationwith the once-aminute release of the relay 2, it makes one revolution inthree hours. The dial of the drum 4 is suitably graduated with a scalerepresenting hours and minutes. The drum 4 is mounted on boss projectingfrom a front panel I a of the apparatus, and is secured in positionthereon by a nut 5. It can, however, turn freely on said boss and, bymeans of a pin 4 which projects into a hole in a gear wheel 6, can becoupled therewith. The gear wheel 6 is in operative connection with ashaft driven by the clockwork I.

According to this embodiment, three programmes are provided, viz, theadjustment of the depth of insertion of the card corresponding with theday of the week; the adjustment between the card and the printingmechanism in accordance with the hours of beginning and leaving work;and the shifting of the ink ribbon for stamping the cards during theintermediate period of the day. In accordance with these threeprogrammes, the perimeter of the drum 4 is brought into operation inthree zones, and grooves 1, into which the riders 8 can be insert: ed,and which correspond with the minutes graduation scale, are provided onthe perimeter of the drum.

In accordance with the three programmes, three groups of release devicesare provided which have, in common, a single shaft 9 carryingtwenty-four cam discs In. These cams, in sets of'eights, are offset at45 on a sleeve H, with which they are threaded on the shaft 9, theangular displacement at 45 being maintained by means of a pin and holecoupling as is clearly shown in Figure 6 which shows the cams in theircorrect relative position but detached from each other. Seated on theshaft 9 is an 8-tooth ratchet wheel I 2, which is engaged by a hookedpawl l3. This pawl I3 is articulated on a rocker I4 and is subjected tothe tension of a spring 15. The rocker I4 is engaged by a latch l6,pivotally mounted on the plate I and coacts with a striker |1 arrangedon the gear wheel 6. Arranged on a pin 8, mounted on the plate l is alocking pawl |9, which engages with the ratchet wheel |2 under theaction of a spring (not shown). A flat 20 on the pin It! serves torestrict the movement of the hooked pawl I3.

The parts |320 form an overhauling or double ratchet system, in which,at each revolution of the gear wheel, and thus also of the drum 4, thestriker |1 imparts a, thrust to the latch l6, thereby subjecting thehooked pawl H to the tension of the spring l5 and causing it toclimbunder the influence of the rocker-over one tooth of the ratchetwheel l2 (position shown in Figure 3). When the latch 6 drops away fromthe striker H, the spring l5 draw the pawl |3 towards the flat 29, andthe ratchet wheel l2, together with the shaft 9 and the cams l; throughone-eighth of a revolution.

In addition to the rider 8 and cams In, each set of release mechanismshas a set of release levers 2|, which, with all the other releaselevers, is rotatably mounted on a rod 22 attached to the plate I. Theindividual release levers 2| are provided with shoulders 23 inextensions projecting beyond the rod 22. Co-acting with the cam l9 andthe end of the release lever 2|, is ia, pusher arm '24, which isarticulated, with the other pusher arms 24 of its release-mechanismgroup, on a rocker shaft 25, and is connected, near its operative end,with a release lever 2|, b means of a tension spring 26 which holds thearm 24 against the cam II] and tends to cause the release lever 2| tobear against a stop rod 21, in which position of the release lever 2|its upper part lies near the drum 4 and in the path of the correspondingrider 8.

Each of the rocker shafts 25 is rigidly attached to a tube 29, 30 and 3|respectively, by means of a connecting rod 28. (In Figure 1, the tube 29is represented by a shaft, for simplicity). The tubes 29, 30 and 3| areconcentric and freely rotatable in relation to each other, and arethreaded on a shaft 32 (Figure the one end being centered in the plate Iby the tube, and the other end being mounted in an auxiliary plate 33,which serves as a bearing for the shaf 9 and forms a rigid framework ofthe rod 22 and stop rod 21 with a spacing rod 34.

Each of the tubes 29, 30, 3| carries an arm, 35, 36 and 31 respectively,with two abutment surfaces 38 and 39, each of which coacts with atwoarmed release pallet 49, 4|, 42. The arms 35, 35, 31 are each underthe influence of a spring 43, tending to hold it in contact with a fixedpin 44. Each of the pallets 40, 4| and 42 is subjected independently, toa, torque which may be imagined to be derived from the clock mechanismdifferential gear being used if desired. Since it is not part of theinvention, and is a known means for the purpose, thi drive is not shownin the drawings.

The release pallet is rigidly mounted on a tube45 which is in operativeconnection, through gears 46, with a cam plate 41. Bearing against thisplate 41, by means of a pin subjected to the pull of a spring 48, is abell crank lever 49, which is connected by means of a tension member 50,with the card channel 5| serving for the introduction of a workers cardinto the time recorder. Since the release pallet 40 coacts, through thetube 29, with the connecting rod 28 of the foremost group of releasemechanism (the one shown on the left hand in the drawing), this group ofmechanisms is based on the programme for the adjustment of the cards inaccordance with the days of the week, or workdays, and it is assumedthat the depth of insertion of the cards is to be adjusted for each dayof the week. The release pallet 4| is rigidly mounted on a tube 52,which passes through the tube 45 (and is freelyjrotatable relativethereto) and carries an eccentric 52. This eccentric lies in a slot 53in a rocking lever 54, which is connected, by means of a thrust rod 55,with a thrust lever 51, movable around an axis 56 and engaging under alever 59 serving to control the ink ribbon 58 of the time recorderapparatus. The ink ribbon 58 is assumed to be of the two-colour kindand, by its adjustment in relation to the printing mechanism of theapparatus, causes the impression on the workers card to appear in one orthe other colour, to emphasize that the time marked on the card isintermediate between the normal marking times. Thus, the central groupof release mechanism, in conjunction with the parts 36, 4|, 52, 52 54-51and 59 adjusts the programme of changing over the ink ribbon 58 of theapparatus.

The release pallet 42 is rigidly mounted on a shaft 6|, on which thetube is slipped so as to rotate freely thereon. The shaft 6| isconnected, through a speed-reducing gear 62, with a cam plate 63coacting with a bell crank lever 64, which is controlled by the tensionOf i8, spring 65 and is connected with the printing mechanism 50,through a rod 66. The printing mechanism 60 slides on a guide 61 in thechecking apparatus, and is connected with the clockwork I, through agear 68, in a manner not shown in the drawing. The third group ofrelease mechanism, shown on the right hand side in the drawings, servesfor the programme of adjustment of the printing on the workers cardduring the normal marking periods.

The described apparatus functions in the following manner:

Assuming that, at the beginnin of a time period, the time drum 4 carriesa rider 8, inserted at the 0 point of the dial, directly under the firstrelease lever 2| of the release-mechanism group of the programme of cardadjustment according to the days of the week, whilst otherwise noautism;

rider is near a release lever 2|. The cam shaft 9 is in such a positionthat the cam H! of the cam shaft, in the same plane as the said releaselever 2|, points downward, and holds down the depressed thrust arm 24coacting therewith, with its operative end in front of the said releaselever 2|.

On the time drum 4 being rotated by the clock mechanism I, the rider 8lifts the release lever 2|, and its lower end encounters and pressesback the arm 24. By this means, the rocker shaft 25, with the connectingrod 28 of this group of release mechanism, is rocked, the tube 29, withthe arm 35, is turned, against the pull of the spring 43 and deflectsthe abutment surface 38 under the release pallet 40 so that the latteris rotated through one-half a revolution, by thetorque to which it issubjected, inasmuch as, after temporary contact with the abutmentsurface 39, its other arm comes to bear against the abutment surface 38which has returned to its former posi tion owing to the release lever 2|having dropped away from the rider 8 in the meantime. As the result ofthe half revolution of the release pallet 40, the pin of the bell cranklever 49 slips from the highest step of the cam plate 41, on which ithas so far been lying, and the card channel 5| is raised for a distancecorresponding to the length of a day, thus performing a function in theprogramme of the card adjustment for the day. Shortly before the releaselever 2| has been lifted by the rider 8, the striker I? has begun tolift the lever l6, and this, by means of the rocker l4, draws the hookedpawl l3 over a tooth of the ratchet wheel I 2 (continuous-line positionin Figure 3). Shortly after the release lever 2| has slipped away fromthe rider, and the tube 29 has returned into its original position, thelever |6 drops away from the striker I1, and, under the pull of thespring l5, the hooked pawl l3 advanced the ratchet wheel l2 by onetooth, thus turning the cam shaft 9 through one-eighth of a revolutionand thus bringing the cam, of the previously operative cam plate, out ofreach of the corresponding thrust arm 24.

Since, during the described release movement of the release lever 2|concerned, only a portion of this release mechanism, that is to say,cam, thrust arm and release lever, came into joint action, the othermembers of this group of release mechanism remained, like all thereleasemechanism groups of the other programmes, inoperative.

If, in the course of the rotation of the time drum 4, a rider 8-forexample in the zone of the central release-mechanism groupcomes intoaction on the release lever 2| lying in its path in that group and, atthe same time, the cam and the cam plate I9 coasting with said releaselever, should depress the corresponding thrust arm 24, the connectingrod 28 will then be turned with the tube 30, and the arm 36 will releasethe pallet 4| for half a revolution. By this means the eccentric 52 inthe slot 53, will be turned half way round, the lever 54 swung into theopposite position, and the lever 51, actuated by the thrust rod 55, willraise the lever 59, so that the ink ribbon 58 will present its secondcolour in the zone between the printing mechanism GI] and workers card,the function of the second programme-ink ribbon changebeing thusdischarged.

If, during the rotation of the time drum 4, a rider 8 in the right handzone, i. e., the third group of release mechanism, should come intooperation with one of the release levers 2| of this '6 group; and if, atthe same time, the correspondiing thrust arm 24 should be depressed byits coacting cam plate Hi, the connecting rod 28 of this group will beturned, with the tube 3|, and the arm 31 will free the release pallet 42for half a revolution. By this means, the cam plate 63 will be turnedthrough one graduation and the bell crank lever 64 will descend on it byone step, the result of which will be that the rod 66 will displace theprinting mechanism by one printing position on the workers card, that isto say, the function of the programme adjustment between workers cardand printing mechanism, with reference to the normal time of beginningand leaving work is discharged.

Reverting to the described function in the firstmentioned programme, itfollows that, after one revolution of the time drum 4, i. e., afterthree hours, the cam of the cam plate Ill, coacting with the firstrelease lever 2| is inoperative on the corresponding thrust arm 24, thatis to say, the thrust arm 24 bears against the rounded portion of thecam plate Iii. Consequently the arm 24 is lifted, and when the samerider 3 lifts the release lever 2| in the same manner as in thebeginning of the operation, the shoulder step 23 0f the latter comeswithin the scope of the operative end of the thrust arm 26, i. e., themovement of the release lever 2| has no effect on the lever 24, andthere is no rotation of the tube 29 and no release of the pallet 40, sothat the programme of setting the workers card in the correct positionfor the time of day is left unfulfilled.

During the further revolutions of the time drum 4 until eight have beencompleted, all the several release mechanisms of the group belonging tothis programme become just as inoperative as the one last mentioned,that is to say, to discharge the function of the several points in theprogramme, a rider 3, the release lever 2|, the cam of the cam plate It,and the lever 24 of this mechanism must coact and it is possible, bycorrespondingly insorting the rider 8 on the time drum, within the zoneof this group of release mechanism, to set this working-time point toany convenient time of day, since at three-hourly intervals, the cam ofanother cam plate it comes into action on the corresponding thrust lever24 and therefore in each three-hour period one of the eight releaselevers 2| of each set is in readiness to establish the connection with arider 8, in order to operate in accordance with the programme.

What has just been stated about the possibility of setting the severalrelease mechanisms in the position of readiness, in the said programmegroup, also applies to the other two groups of release mechanism, sothat the functional release for each programme can be set to within aminute for any time of day.

The above described arrangement has the advantage over those alreadyknown, that the time drum is of the non-sliding type, and thus, althoughhaving a large stroke per minute, does not occupy an unduly large space;that the time drum is readily interchangeable, since unscrewing the nut5 is all that is needed, the drum to be withdrawn from the apparatus,and that, accordingly, the programmes can easily be altered; whilst nocomplicated mechanical arrangement is needed to attain coaction betweenrider and release lever in the various diurnal zones of the severalprogrammes.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is:

1. A time recorder comprising, in combination, recording means formaking time recordings on a record, record holding means, individualmeans for varying the positional relationship between said recording andholding means in order to effect a record in accordance with each ofseveral programmes, and means for actuating said individual means, saidactuating means including a time drum driven to make a plurality ofrevolutions in 24 hours said drum having peripheral riders thereon, andgroups of release mechanisms each mechanism to be actuated from one ofsaid riders and having means to engage and disengage one of saidindividual means permitting and prohibiting actuation thereof, a groupof said release mechanisms including as many mechanisms as the drummakes revolutions in 24 hours and each group of mechanisms beingoperatively associated through said engaging and disengaging means witha separate one of said individual means.

2. A time recorder in accordance with claim 1 wherein a shaft common toall the groups of release mechanisms carries for rotation therewith anindividual cam member for each release mechanism in all of said groups,each said cam member being operative to permit and prevent operation ofits respective release mechanism from one of said riders dependent uponits rotational position and means for giving said common shaftrotational movement upon each complete revolution of the time drum.

3. A time recorder in accordance with claim 2 wherein said means forgiving said common shaft rotational movement upon each completerevolution of said time drum, comprises a lever which is pivoted uponeach complete revolution of said drum and a double ratchetinterconnecting an end of said lever and said shaft.

4. A time recorder in accordance with claim 3 wherein timing means areprovided for said recording means said timing means driving a gear towhich said drum is connected for correlative rotation therewith, saidgear having an extension for engaging and pivoting said lever.

5. A time recorder in accordance with claim 2 wherein each releasemechanism comprises a release lever adapted to be pivoted by one of saidriders said lever having a shoulder thereon, a thrust arm spring urgedagainst one of said cam members adapted to engage said shoulder on saidrelease lever when said lever is pivoted by one of said riders and saidthrust arm is in contact with a high point on said cam, said arm beingarticulated on a rocker shaft common to all the other thrust arms of itsgroup of release mechanisms, said arm being adapted to turn said rockershaft when it is engaged by said shoulder, and means released by turningsaid rocker shaft to permit actuation of one of said individual means.

6. A time recorder in accordance with claim 5 wherein the cam membersare mounted side by side on said common shaft and are in the form ofplates interconnected by pin and holecouplings, the pins and holes inthe several plates being offset in relation to each other, inrelationship with the number of revolutions of the time drum per 24hours, so that the cam plates corresponding with the several programmesbring their respective thrust arms into position to be engaged by theshoulder of the respective release levers in serial succession.

'7. A time recorder in accordance with claim 3 wherein said doubleratchet comprises a rocker element mounted for free rotation on saidcommon shaft and pivotally connected to an end of said lever, a ratchetwheel secured to said common shaft for correlative rotation therewithhaving as many teeth as there are cams in each group of said releasemechanism, a hooked pawl pivotally connected to said rocker elementadapted to engage said ratchet wheel and spring urged in one direction,and a stop pawl to engage said ratchet wheel and prevent rotationthereof in one direction.

PAUL FEHR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,719,000 Crook July 2, 19292,338,180 Harrison Jan. 4, 1944 2,389,345 Dell et a1. Nov. 20, 19452,421,697 Hobby June 3, 1947

